Chimney News
Weather, safety notices and local rules that affect chimneys and fireplaces in our area, each with its source and what it means for your home.
SeasonClocks Fell Back November 1, 2026: Check Smoke and CO AlarmsDaylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when clocks fell back an hour. Fire services use the change as a reminder to test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. It falls just as boilers, furnaces, fireplaces and stoves move into steady use, which is when a working alarm and a sound chimney matter most.
SeasonPennsylvania Winter Weather Awareness Week, November 2026The National Weather Service observed Winter Weather Awareness Week in Pennsylvania from November 1 to 6, 2026, followed by Snow Squall Awareness Week on November 9 to 13. The campaign covered storms, ice, snow squalls, winter flooding and cold. Ice that brings down lines and trees also leads to power outages, and outages bring fireplaces and generators into heavy use.
SafetyCPSC Recall: DREO DR-HSH015 Space Heaters, October 2026On October 29, 2026 the CPSC announced a recall of about 338,800 DREO DR-HSH015 ceramic space heaters made from April 2025 through January 2026. The heaters can overheat and ignite; the company had 17 reports of ignition, three with property damage and one hand burn. The recall arrived just as homes in the region began their heating season.
SafetyCPSC Warns Against JZA-540COM Smoke and CO AlarmsThe CPSC warned on October 29, 2026 consumers to stop using combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms with model number JZA-540COM, sold online from November 2023 to October 2026. The agency had seven reports of the alarms failing to sound in smoke or fire, and the seller did not respond to a recall request. Fireplace season is when a reliable smoke alarm matters most.
SeasonNew Jersey's First Widespread Frost of Fall 2026On October 16, 2026, a New Jersey forecast called for the season's first widespread frost or freeze on Sunday morning, with temperatures in the 30s across most of the state and below freezing in the northwest. Normal mid-October lows run in the upper 40s. The first cold night is when furnaces, boilers and fireplaces start up again, often before anyone checks the flue.
WeatherNOAA Winter Outlook 2026-27: Warmer, Wetter East CoastNOAA's U.S. Winter Outlook, released October 15, 2026, favors above-average temperatures across much of the East and wetter-than-average conditions along the East Coast for December through February, driven by a very strong El Nino. The outlook does not forecast snowfall. A mild, wet winter is no break for chimneys: more rain and more nights near freezing keep masonry wet and cycling.
SafetyFire Prevention Week 2026 Puts Battery Charging in FocusThe National Fire Protection Association's Fire Prevention Week ran October 4 to 10, 2026 under the theme Charge into Fire Safety: Safe Charging Is a Superpower, focused on lithium-ion batteries. It arrived as homes began heating for the season. Batteries, chargers and e-bikes do not belong on a hearth or near a stove, and the week is a timely reminder to check alarms and chimneys too.
RulesNYC Heat Season Begins October 1: What Boilers Must DeliverNew York City's heat season began on October 1, 2026 and runs through May 31. Under the city's housing rules, owners must keep apartments at least 68 degrees by day when it is below 55 outside, and at least 62 overnight. For buildings heated by an oil or gas boiler venting into a masonry chimney, the flue is part of keeping those numbers.
WeatherLate-September 2026 Nor'easter Hits the Shore and Long IslandA slow-moving nor'easter crept up the coast in late September 2026, pushing high tides into Jersey Shore and Long Island neighborhoods and knocking out power for about 100,000 customers. Surf City, New Jersey recorded a 74 mph gust. Days of wind-driven rain and salt spray are hard on flashing, caps and mortar, especially near the water.
WeatherNew Jersey's Wet August 2026: 7.36 Inches StatewideThe state's August 2026 recap put statewide rainfall at 7.36 inches, 2.79 inches above the 1991 to 2020 mean, after an already wet July. Eleven stations logged 2 inches in a single hour, and flash flooding hit the north, central and south of the state. Masonry that stays wet going into fall is the masonry that cracks first once freezing nights begin.
SafetyCPSC Warns Against KH158 Plug-In Gas and CO DetectorsThe CPSC issued a warning on August 20, 2026 telling consumers to stop using 4 in 1 plug-in natural gas and carbon monoxide detectors, model KH158, after 91 reports that they failed to alarm during gas or CO leaks. About 376,974 units are affected and no recall was agreed. In homes with gas boilers venting into old chimneys, a working CO alarm is essential.
WeatherJuly 2026 Storms Flood NYC Streets and Subway StationsThrough July 2026, round after round of thunderstorms swamped New York City streets, flooded subway stations and triggered flash flood warnings across the five boroughs, with a flood watch in place on July 21. Summer downpours are hard on chimneys too: wind-driven rain soaks brick, open flues take on water, and humid air turns old soot into a strong odor indoors.
SafetyCPSC Recall: 255,000 SRTH Small Room Tower HeatersThe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on June 4, 2026 the recall of about 255,000 Vornado SRTH Small Room Tower Heaters, sold from August 2013 through May 2026. A fan blade can come loose, letting the heater overheat and melt, and the company had 32 overheating reports including eight fires. Space heaters often stand in for a fireplace that is out of service.
WeatherMarch 2026 Wind Storm: 72 mph at JFK, 71 mph in NewarkOvernight storms on March 16 to 17, 2026 brought gusts of 72 mph at JFK, 71 mph at Newark, 64 mph in Keyport and 62 mph at Harvey Cedars. Trees fell on homes in South Plainfield and Metuchen, and tens of thousands lost power. Wind that strong tests chimney caps, loose top courses of brick and anything strapped to the stack.
WeatherFebruary 2026 Blizzard: New Jersey and Philadelphia TotalsThe February 22 to 23, 2026 storm buried central New Jersey under 25 to 26 inches in Freehold, Middletown and Perth Amboy, with a statewide peak of 30.7 inches. Newark Airport measured 18.3 inches and Northeast Philadelphia 16.0. Snow that deep sits on roofs for days, and the slow melt finds every weak point around a chimney.
WeatherFebruary 2026 Nor'easter Snow in New Castle CountyThe nor'easter of February 22 to 23, 2026 dropped 7 to 12 inches across most of New Castle County, including 9.5 inches in Wilmington and 10 in Hockessin, while Kent and Sussex saw close to double. Downed trees cut power in parts of North Wilmington. Outages push families toward fireplaces and stoves, and that is when a neglected flue causes trouble.
WeatherFebruary 2026 Blizzard: NYC and Long Island Snow TotalsThe blizzard of February 22 to 23, 2026 dropped 15.1 inches in Central Park, 20.5 inches in Sheepshead Bay and 27.5 inches in Remsenburg-Speonk on Long Island, with a New York peak of 31 inches. Deep drifts pile against chimneys and bury low sidewall vents, which raises both leak risk and carbon monoxide risk in the days after.
WeatherNYC Averages Below 20 Degrees for 16 Days, a First Since 1982Between January 24 and February 8, 2026, New York City's average temperature stayed below 20 degrees, the first 16-day run that cold since January 1982. Central Park dropped to 3 degrees on February 8. Weeks of near-constant boiler firing push a lot of moisture and heat through old masonry flues, and the damage tends to show up in spring.
WeatherRecord Snow in Central Park on January 25, 2026A winter storm left 11.4 inches of snow in Central Park on January 25, 2026, the most on record for that date, with heavier totals north of Manhattan. Forecasters expected highs to stay below freezing for about a week afterward. Snow on roofs and long boiler run times put chimneys, caps and sidewall vents under real strain.
WeatherPhiladelphia's Biggest Snow in 10 Years Turns to SleetOn January 25, 2026, Philadelphia International Airport measured 9.1 inches of snow, the most since January 2016, before the storm turned to sleet and freezing rain. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly then forecast lows in the single digits. An icy crust over snow, followed by days of hard cold, is a classic setup for crown cracks and leaks at rowhouse flashing.
RulesEPA Ends Burn Wise Updates: What Wood Burners Should KnowThe EPA stopped updating its Burn Wise program as of October 30, 2025, turning the site into a historical record. Burn Wise ran from 2009 to 2025 to help reduce fine particle pollution from residential wood smoke. Its tip sheets and best-practice pages remain online, and the basics behind them, dry wood, hot fires and a clean flue, have not changed.
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